


Dragunfire

by canufeelthemagictonight



Series: ETNuary [6]
Category: Escape the Night (Web Series), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Dragons, ETNuary, Fire, Friendship, Gen, Happy Nikita Day!, Minor Character Death, Nikita Dragun can turn into a dragon, Princes & Princesses, Protectiveness, Tower AU (by Birdy), because why not, it's in her name, it's no one you care about don't worry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-06
Updated: 2020-01-06
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:33:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22134094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/canufeelthemagictonight/pseuds/canufeelthemagictonight
Summary: Every tower has protection, you see. Some have moats. Some have walls of thorns. Some have ancient spells that have survived for thousands of years. Princess Manny of Mua's tower has Nikita Dragun, girl/dragon/professional asskicker.In a world where everyone is either a prince or a princess, Nikita Dragun is neither. She's just a girl with magical dragon powers who wants to protect her best friend.An Escape the Night AU. Day 6 of ETNuary.
Relationships: Nikita Dragun & Manny MUA
Series: ETNuary [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1587721
Comments: 24
Kudos: 24





	Dragunfire

**Author's Note:**

> Day 6 is Nikita Dragun! For this one, I took some inspiration from an AU my lovely friend Birdy created. Birdy, I hope you love my take on your little prince and princess world!  
> (Also, wow, this is the longest ETNuary fic yet, how'd that happen?)

Princesses all over the kingdom wait in towers for princes to come and save them. Princes ride from place to place on their noble steeds, their swords in hand, looking for a princess to rescue and wed. That is how love works in Everlock. Rescue romances are the norm.

Then, there's Nikita Dragun.

She supposes that she could've been a princess, if she wanted. She also could've been a prince. But neither interest her. Why would she want to wait in an ugly-ass tower all day for some idiot to come gallivanting in to save her? Besides, no tower could keep her contained; she would've burned the whole damn place down two seconds after her imprisonment began. As for being a prince, that's too easy. Her special powers would get her past any obstacle, and then what? She'd have to settle down with whoever she rescues first? Fuck that. She's twenty-two. She wants a bit more out of life before she starts in with the whole marriage-and-kids mess.

Fortunately for her, she was born with the power to turn into a dragon on command. As a result, she can pretty much do whatever the hell she wants, and currently, "whatever the hell she wants" means keeping her best friend safe from all the asshole princes who are bastardizing the Everlock tower system.

Every tower has protection, you see. Some have moats. Some have walls of thorns. Some have ancient spells that have survived for thousands of years. Princess Manny of Mua's tower has Nikita Dragun, girl/dragon/professional asskicker.

This particular morning, at six AM, a still-not-quite-awake Nikita is adjusting her blonde wig when she hears the familiar sound of hooves against the grass. _A prince already?_ Suddenly glad that she's an early riser, she finishes polishing her look, grabs a cup from the Fountain of Truth that her mama gave her when she was a kid, then heads out to see who's trying for the princess _this_ time.

When she gets outside, she catches a silver-armored prince in the act of dismounting from his horse. He removes his helmet to reveal smooth dark hair, chocolate-brown eyes, soft cheeks, kissable pink lips, and a winning smile.

 _Oh, of_ course _this bitch is hot,_ grumbles Nikita to herself. _See,_ this _is why I have to run interference, cause if I just let him prance into the tower looking like that, Manny would be a goner before breakfast._ "Good morning, Sir Prince! What brings you around these parts?"

"Name's Tristan," declares the prince, "and I heard there was a princess in these parts who needed rescuing." He squints at Nikita. "It's not you, is it?"

Nikita laughs at his dumb assumption. "Of course not, silly!" She tries to sound giggly and innocent to throw him off his guard. "The tower's right over there, but the princess is asleep right now. It's six in the morning, you know." _You early-bird bitch._

"Well, there's nothing better to wake up to than a handsome prince who's come to save the day," is Tristan's self-congratulatory response.

"Sure, whatever," snorts Nikita. "Here, have a drink of water before you conduct your, uh, daring rescue. Hydration is important and shit."

Tristan takes the cup of water and chugs it down no questions asked. (Little does he know that the water from the Fountain of Truth will make it impossible for him to tell a lie for the next twenty-four hours.)

"Now," says Nikita once Tristan has finished his drink, "why are you _really_ here?"

Much to her shock, Tristan doesn't even hesitate to respond. "A buddy of mine bet me a castle I couldn't rescue a hundred princesses in six months. That was three months ago, and look at me now! I'm _so_ proving him wrong! Forty-nine, and this one'll be fifty..." He smirks. "That castle is all but mine!"

Warning bells go off in Nikita's head. _Forty-nine princesses in three months? That's not how it's supposed to work. You're supposed to rescue_ one _princess, and then it's true love for the rest of your life or whatever._ "But where are the forty-nine princesses you've already saved? Are they waiting for you back home?"

"Nah, I ditched 'em all," confesses Tristan casually. "They were good lays, but I can't let a clingy princess get in the way of my dream castle! I did immortalize 'em in notches on my belt, though. Wanna see?"

Nikita feels like her head is about to explode. "Notches...on your... _belt?"_

"Yeah! So I can prove to Rodrick that I actually saved 'em! Say, do you know what this one's like? How tight do you think—"

And that's when Nikita snaps.

With a ferocious yell, she transforms into her more terrifying form: a twenty-foot-tall dragon with blood-red scales, razor-sharp claws, wings, and a face that can strike fear into the hearts of the bravest men alive. It certainly strikes fear into the heart of Tristan, who initially screams at the sight of her before regaining his composure. "Holy shit, you're a dragon?" He raises his sword. "Begone, foul beast! I'll slay—"

He never gets to finish his sentence before Nikita roasts him alive with her fiery breath. Before long, all that's left of the once-handsome Prince Tristan is a smoldering pile of ashes on the ground.

 _Take that, bitch!_ thinks Nikita smugly as she turns back into a human girl. _You've notched up your belt for the last time!_

"Nikita?" Manny peeks out of his tower window. Apparently, all the commotion disturbed his beauty sleep; his hair is all mussed up, the makeup he put on last night is smudged, and he sounds like he's still got one foot in dreamland. "What's going on?"

Nikita smiles up at him. "Don't worry, Manny. Everything's fine."

"Bitch, the grass is on fire!"

"Nothing for you to worry about. Go back to sleep."

Manny grumbles a bit, but complies. Nikita, meanwhile, stands vigilant outside her best friend's tower, waiting for another prince to come and try their luck. It's all in a day's work, really. What's an incineration here and there if it means that Manny remains protected from assholes like Tristan?

Someday, a _good_ prince will come, a prince who is brave and smart and gentle and strong, who really cares about all that true love crap. When he comes, she'll let him (and _only_ him) into the tower. But until then, she's got a job to do.

**Author's Note:**

> Next up: Teala Dunn!


End file.
